Barstool Boss Flirts With City Hall, Wonders If NYC Would Elect Him

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy told Fox News on Monday that he could see himself running for New York City mayor, tossing out, "If I was going to run, it would be here," while openly conceding he is not convinced he could actually win. The comment, part tease and part trial balloon, quickly bounced around social feeds and local coverage as Portnoy works through a packed week of media stops for his new book.

As reported by Elite Sports NY, Portnoy made the remarks during an appearance with Jesse Watters and followed up with, "Can I win here? I have no idea," while pointing to what he sees as his record in the city through the Barstool Fund and his One Bite pizza reviews. That clip quickly made the rounds on X and was picked up by sports and culture outlets, where the tone was a familiar mix of amusement, side-eye and skepticism.

Portnoy's footprint in New York

Portnoy’s One Bite reviews and the Barstool Fund have had concrete local effects. A strong review can mean instant lines out the door and a flood of attention, and his occasional cash infusions have kept some spots afloat. Local reporting detailed a $60,000 gift Portnoy made to TinyBrickOven to keep the shop open, a move that sparked a surge in business and additional donations, according to CBS Baltimore.

Threats to move the company

Portnoy has previously floated the idea of moving Barstool’s New York offices to Hoboken or Jersey City after Zohran Mamdani’s upset victory, a comment covered by local outlets at the time and now resurfacing as context for his latest mayoral chatter. That history helps explain why talk of a Portnoy run registered as something more than a throwaway vanity line among his followers.

How New Yorkers reacted

Reaction online landed mostly in the bemused-to-dismissive zone, with plenty of users arguing the whole thing sounds more like content than a real political play. The Comeback rounded up X posts that joked a hypothetical showdown with Mayor Mamdani would be must-watch entertainment rather than a viable campaign.

Political reality check

Portnoy has told mainstream outlets in the past that he is generally wary of formal politics and does not exactly crave the grind that comes with being an elected official. That reluctance, reported in interviews with major media, points to his latest remarks sounding more exploratory than like an actual campaign launch. Any serious run would also have to take on incumbent Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who was sworn in on January 1, 2026, according to the Mayor's Office.

Bottom line

For now, Portnoy’s mayoral tease looks firmly like one more beat in a broader publicity cycle. He is on a book tour this week, and an offhand line about City Hall keeps his name in the political conversation without locking him into a long campaign. His Ridgewood book event on June 30 was flagged by local press, a reminder that this moment is at least as much about media buzz as it is about municipal policy; see Ridgewood Daily Voice for event details. Expect more headlines, but turning cable-news banter into an actual run would require far more than a tossed-off sound bite.